Introduction

Historically, the economic and cultural development in regions
throughout Europe has been underpinned by the availability of natural
resources; especially water.

Today, as we keep squeezing our natural resources through
technological advances, industrial development and rises in
consumption, we are reaching waters natural limit.

In many regions we have already surpassed this point.

The economic crisis has taught us the fallacy of building an economy
on debt; and climate change, with its changing frequency and intensity
of rainfall, will nullify many of our technological advances unless we
learn to use what we have more sustainably.

Predicting this sustainable use and consumption of water is of
course a difficult task and varies significantly at the country,
regional and local level. In Europe it has often been characterised by
a north-south divide but, increasingly, the problems of water scarcity
traditionally found in the south are also reported in parts of the
North.

Achieving sustainable water management which will lead to more
efficient use, and potentially availability, is inherently complex.
However, we also know that many of the economic sectors that depend on
water realise the need to conserve their natural resources.

As Benjamin Franklin said – “When the well is dry, we know the worth
of water” (Poor Richard’s Almanac, 1746)

It is our role to ensure that consumers and all sectors abstracting
water do not push our resources to a point of no return. The ultimate
goal for all of us should be to restore and enhance the environment in
conjunction with the human management activities that may currently
threaten them.

To achieve this we need robust and quality assured reporting and
data to establish the current state and ensure the right policy
responses are provided.

European Environment Agency

Slide 2 - EEA

The organisation I direct - the European Environment Agency - has a
key role in ensuring the EU and its citizens can make the changes our
environment needs.

We are required to support sustainable development and help achieve
significant and measurable improvement in Europe's environment, through
the provision of timely, targeted, relevant and reliable
information.

Today, as part of that mandate I would like to share with you some
of the results from ‘Europe’s water - Water resources across Europe
— confronting water scarcity and drought’ – a report
which we are releasing today.

EU Water Stress

Slide 3 – water scarcity and
drought

Drastic measures - such as the shipping of freshwater to Cyprus from
Greece in the summer of 2008 – are now all too common and water
shortages have reached a critical level in many areas of Europe.

Such lack of water is normally caused by a combination of both
over-exploitation - typically through; agriculture, public water
supply, industry and energy generation sectors - and drought - a
natural phenomenon that has cost Europe about EUR 100 billion over the
last 30 years alone.

National Scale WEI

Slide 4 - WEI

One measure of the pressure or stress on freshwater resources is the
Water Exploitation Index (WEI), which is calculated as the ratio of
freshwater abstraction to the long-term available resource.

Nationally aggregated data show that a number of member countries
have a WEI either around or greater than the 20% stress threshold,
including many in southern and south-eastern Europe.

River Basin WEI

Slide 5 – Regional WEI

Whilst the value of the National scale WEI’s is important it can
also mask very high values at a regional or river basin scale.

Spain, for example, has a national WEI of about 34% whilst two river
basins in the south of the country, Andalusia and Segura, have
extremely high WEI’s of 164% and 127%, respectively.

Increasingly, river basins in more northerly regions are also
experiencing significant water stress. In the south east of England,
for example, the WEI now exceeds 30%.

These observations are significant when we consider the likely
impact water scarcity (overexploitation) and drought has on the aquatic
environment.

Water quality, due to the lower dilution
of pollutants, decreases too. Reduced water of poorer quality damages
freshwater ecosystems and thus fish and bird life.

Climate change of course will add to the problems we face and can no
longer be disputed – observations by the IPCC are unequivocal,
indicated by a global temperature increase of almost 0.8 °C above
pre-industrial levels.

Key climate change trends

Slide 6 – Climate change

Last autumn the EEA, in conjunction with the Commissions Joint
Research Centre and the World Health Organisation Europe, released our
latest indicator report on climate change impacts;

We have observed increases in the
number of hot and cold extremes, and the intensity and variability of
precipitation extremes;

We have rapid melting of the European
glaciers.

A significant change in the fluvial
system and distribution across North and South Europe.

Importantly, the frequency and severity of droughts will also
increase, reflected by the substantial increases in the number of
consecutive dry days. Put simply; the current dry regions in Europe
will become drier still.

Inevitably this change will have a significant impact on many of the
industries in those areas; in particular agriculture, which accounts
for a quarter of all water abstracted across Europe, looks
vulnerable.

Unsustainable path - Agriculture

Slide 7 – Irrigation and
abstraction

In parts of the south, however, this figure can rise to up to 80%,
often through using inefficient techniques.

Agriculture’s position and environmental impact is confounded by its
high ‘consumptive’ use - that is, only a small proportion of the water
abstracted for irrigation is subsequently returned to a water body.

In contrast nearly 100% of the water used in energy production –
mainly for cooling - is returned.

Supply-led management

Slide 8 – supply led
management

Agriculture illustrates the major weakness in water use throughout
Europe; traditionally, the management has focused only on ensuring more
supply and reducing vulnerability to droughts.

Much of the focus on supply led management has been achieved through
a massive growth in reservoirs, mainly throughout the 19th
and 20th centuries, together with inter-basin transfers of
water and, more recently, the building of desalination plants.

Further all these projects raise other environmental concerns;
desalination plants - for example - require huge amounts of energy
which, until we build a low carbon economy, will only exacerbate
climate change.

The disproportionate emphasis on supply provides no incentive to
limit water use by any sector - promoting the excessive abstraction we
see today.

When we also consider the future increases in the frequency and
severity of droughts it is clear that a supply-led approach to water
management is not sustainable.

Demand-led management

In clear and simple terms the status quo is not a viable option for
the future. Europe has to move away from a supply led water
resource management to a demand-led approach.

Slide 9 – sustainable demand
led

Focusing on conservation and a more efficient use across all sectors
is not only more equitable – by accounting for the need of a healthy
freshwater ecosystems - but will allow Europe’s water sector to adapt
to climate change and contribute to lower energy consumption.

Importantly we can achieve this now as many of the policy tools
necessary to develop a demand led approach already exist; in particular
water pricing and efficiency.

Water Pricing

Slide 10 – water pricing

Water Pricing has a critical role to play in demand-led management
since it has a clear impact upon water use; a fact recognised by the
Water Framework Directive which requires that the pricing of all water
services reflect their true costs.

Pricing needs to be implemented across all sectors and must be based
on the volume of water consumed underpinned by a metering system.

Improving Efficiency – Public Water Supply

Slide 11 - Efficiency

There are many opportunities for improving the efficiency of water
in the public water supply, where in some member countries leakage
exceeds 30%.

Clearly, addressing leakage in distribution has the potential to
yield significant water savings. To achieve this leak detection needs
to be improved, leakage rates accurately quantified and networks
upgraded and maintained.

But all of us consuming water have a role to play through the use of
water efficient domestic appliances and fittings. Higher regulatory
standards and improved consumer awareness have a key role to play in
addressing the challenge - for all of us - to increase the use of these
modern technologies across the whole of Europe.

Improving Efficiency – Industry

The picture I have painted so far is a challenge for Europe, but our
report also provides illustrations where industry is responding to that
challenge.

Examples of improved water efficiency are increasingly reported in
the industrial sector, driven by the cost of discharging wastewater.
This has led to the development of on-site treatment of wastewater,
enabling water to be re-used.

In Swansea, (Wales - UK) for example, a drive through car wash has
installed a closed loop water recycling system using reed beds to treat
wastewater. The reed bed system has resulted in a 60% decline in water
use and a comparable decrease in the discharge of wastewater.

Such systems, ultimately driven by appropriate water pricing, have
led to ‘win-win’ outcomes, with reduced water use, less energy consumed
and a decline in the volume of wastewater discharged.

Slide 12 – demand led
agriculture

In agriculture the critical element to achieving demand-led water
management is the provision of advisory, educational and information
services for the farming community.

A growing number of such services exist in
Europe including that of the Lake Van region, here in Turkey, where
farmer training and an advisory programme have been successfully
implemented regarding irrigation techniques. Or;

The establishment of an irrigation service
for farmers in the Castilla La Mancha region of the Jucar river basin,
Spain has led to the provision of advice to more than 2000 farmers
which has led to reductions in water use.

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) can play a key role in driving
agriculture to sustainable use of water. This can be achieved not only
by supporting much greater implementation of advisory services in the
agricultural community throughout Europe, but also in supporting
agri-environmental measures that embrace water conservation and
efficiency of use.

Concluding remarks

Slide 13 - Conclusions

The European Water Partnership’s (EWP) water vision is to;‘treat
water as our common heritage with an economic, social, environmental
and cultural value for our societies.’

However our report illustrates that the management of Europe’s water
resources is unsustainable and still mainly focused on securing supply,
offering no incentive to halt overexploitation.

Critical levels of water stress, together with a likely increase in
the frequency and severity of droughts in the future, mean that
substantial change is needed. The financial crisis has illustrated that
we cannot turn a blind eye to unsustainable practices.

Demand-led management is urgently required, whereby the focus is
upon conserving water and using it more efficiently.

We have made significant inroads in improving the quality of water
across the EU, but now we must act on the pressing challenge
surrounding its use and availability.

The EU and Governments throughout Europe can play a crucial role
using public spending to maintain the necessary infrastructure, promote
technological innovation and change consumption behaviour.

Improving information about Europe’s water resources will help the
continent’s citizens engage more fully in the issue of water scarcity
and drought, empowering them to question decision makers and influence
the future management of water resources.

In addition, many of the tools and approaches detailed in our report
could feature as elements of the ‘new Green Deal’ stimulus packages of
public investment that many Governments are considering in response to
the current financial crisis.

Through including businesses; ranging from water supply, sanitation
and utilities; farmers and fishermen, and by evaluating ecosystem goods
and services, will we be able to develop an integrated demand led
management approach.

Europe’s water resources are too precious to let the well run dry,
but we can no longer delay in taking action.